Proverbs 1:18

But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Wisdom speaks to the simple and scoffers during the opening discourse of Proverbs 1, describing the moment those who plot violence realize their trap has closed on themselves.

The words — The Hebrew verb יֶאֱרֹ֑בוּ (ye'ĕrōbû) literally means "they lie in wait," paired with לְדָמָם (leḏāmām), "for their own blood." The text states the hunter's posture first, before inferring that the pursuer's own life becomes the intended target.

The thread — This pattern of self-entrapment runs through Proverbs 5:22, where sin's cords entangle the wicked, and Esther 7:10, where Haman dies on the gallows he prepared. Psalms 9:16 reinforces the motif by noting the wicked are ensnared by the work of their own hands.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge that covert ambition and violent schemes inevitably rebound on the plotter. It demands a deliberate rejection of self-serving traps in favor of choices that preserve life rather than destroy it.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְ֭הֵםVe./hemand/ they לְדָמָ֣םle./da.Ma/mfor/ own blood/ their יֶאֱרֹ֑בוּye.'e.Routhey lie in wait יִ֝צְפְּנ֗וּyitz.pe.Nuthey lie hidden לְנַפְשֹׁתָֽם׃le./naf.sho.Ta/mfor/ own life/ their

King James Version

And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.

Cross-references

Psalms 9:16 The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Esther 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
Proverbs 5:22 The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.
Proverbs 28:17 A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.
Psalms 7:14 Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
Psalms 55:23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
Matthew 27:4 “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” he said. “What is that to us?” they replied. “You bear the responsibility.”
Proverbs 9:17 “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”